LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters): Gold hit a record high of $4,600 on Monday, while silver also set a new peak, as a criminal probe by the Trump administration into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent investors back into the asset viewed as a safe haven.
Spot gold jumped 1.7 per cent to $4,584.12 per ounce by 1159 GMT, after earlier hitting a record high of $4,600.33. US gold futures for February delivery gained 2.1 per cent to $4,595.
"With the Fed's independence now openly contested, the 'political risk' discount usually reserved for emerging markets is bleeding into the US dollar, driving investors toward hard assets," said Zain Vawda, analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA. Wall Street futures dropped and the dollar fell by the most in three weeks as tensions between the Fed and the Trump administration escalated.
Powell said the threat to indict him over Congressional testimony he gave last summer was a "pretext" for the Trump administration to gain more influence over interest rates, which the US President wants cut dramatically.
Brokerages including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley expect two 25-basis-point rate cuts each in June and September. Trump said he is also weighing a range of strong responses including military options to a crackdown on Iranian protests.
Iran's unrest comes as Trump flexes US muscles internationally, having ousted Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro as president and discussing acquiring Greenland.
Non-yielding assets like gold tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during geopolitical or economic uncertainty.
Spot silver rose 4.8 per cent to $83.78 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $84.60 earlier in the day.
"The path (for silver) is open toward $90 and potentially $100 per ounce if the industrial squeeze tightens. Looking at the gold-to-silver ratio which is narrowing, this usually suggests silver has more room to run than gold in per centage terms," Vawda said.
